Katerina's Cooking School

Christie and Lynn - time to cook Sicilian Style!

Late last week, we were invited over to the beautiful home of wide receiver Gregorio Barbagallo for a fabulous dinner where Christie and her mother had the opportunity for an “informal cooking lesson” with Greg’s mom Katerina. It was an amazing evening – and ended with the best twist I could have imagined.Before I came over to Italy, I had talked to Greg using ‘Instant Messenger’ many times, and had mentioned how my wife was very interested in learning the Italian style of cooking. Greg, like our coach Davide has many times, corrected me and told me that Sicilian style differs from other areas in Italy, but that his mom would love to be able to help teach Christie some of her Sicilian style. As an added bonus, Katerina was available when Christie’s mom was here and it could become a whole mother-daughter bonding moment! 

Preparing Pasta Al Katerina.

We arrived around 7pm, and before long “Katerina’s School of Fine Cuisine” had begun. Homemade Ragu (Meat Sauce) was prepared using homemade tomato paste (not any of this Hunt’s store-bought stuff!), and soon the ladies began layering sheets of penne-type noodles, cheeses, and vegetables into an incredibly tasty dish that was later cooked for 20 minutes to let the cheese melt completely.

 

Not your average meat sauce!

While they moved on to a meat dish (the second course), Gregorio and I laid out cheeses, meats, and crackers – all covered with their own Olive Oil that Greg helped produce. Yes, I said “their own” Olive Oil – the family itself owns about 1,500 trees up on the slopes of Mt. Etna, where the elevation allows for the best growing conditions, and Greg spends the better parts of October and November personally making the EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil as Rachel Ray puts it.) 

As a general rule of thumb, when the Olive Oil you are using comes from someone’s own trees and is sold commercially to tourists… you know you’re in for a pretty darn good meal.

We ate like kings, having 3 full courses (including the meat dish that ended up being egg and cheese wrapped in beef then covered with mash potatoes and gravy!), dessert of fresh strawberries, and some of Sicily’s finest wines. Oh yeah… I should mention that Katerina also is a wine connoisseur, having taken countless classes over the course of her work as one of Sicily’s most experienced tour guides. What an amazing meal!

The meat dish makes its rounds...

A full table of full people!  (Photo Courtesy: George Contreras)

~ J. Twice